Hero at Large

by Timothy Ellis

  "Understood. Do it."

  The doors locked open, and I dropped us straight out. I lowered the ramp, and quickly matched speed with Moose. The Dropship was faster, but not by much. I took us up and over the ship, and carefully hovered over the rear hull, not quite to the end. Betty merged our shields, and with a deep breath, I twirled us one hundred and eighty degrees, setting us down on the hull.

  I'd timed it almost right. We were sitting right on the end of the hull, overlooking the drives. Coming along behind us was the Gladiator. His icon on the HUD was showing bounties, so we were justified in taking him out if we could.

  The missile lock tone sounded.

  "Heads up, missiles launched."

  Eight point defense guns opened up. The first three missiles all exploded well short of our shields. There was a pause, and we had six more incoming. The defensive fire took out the first five. There was nothing I could do but sit there and watch. George took evasive action, and the missile went past one side, suddenly exploding as it turned inward. Guessing, I'd say score one for BA.

  The Gladiator pilot sent the next six off in slightly different trajectories. We got four, but two of them hit different shields. The next attempt went the same, four down, two hit. I checked on Moose's shielding. It was holding, but only just. We had to hold the Gladiator off so it couldn't use guns.

  I took a gamble it was out of missiles, and lifted us off the back of Moose. Our shields separated, Moose's now showing slightly lower than before, but quickly started improving.

  "Brace yourselves. I'm going to try and get you into position where you can continuously fire at his shields. Your guns can't hurt his hull too much, but given time, we can shred the shields."

  "Stop talking, and do it."

  I grinned. I pushed us up to full speed, and head to head with an enemy. Like the last time, I wasn't playing chicken. I waited until just before we reached what I thought was gun range for the Gladiator, and threw us to the side. The gunners raked him as we went past. I turned as sharply as I could, and it was obvious right then, I had a major advantage in maneuverability. I used it.

  He'd tried the same thing, turning to bring his guns to bear, but I was turning inside him. One of our turrets was firing all the time while we went around in tight circles. Suddenly he broke out of the circle, and I compensated, and put us on his tail. Now all the guns were firing. I kept on his tail like I was glued on. He tried very hard to avoid our fire, but he couldn't completely escape it, no matter what he did. I kept an eye on the shields, watching as we slowly nibbled away at them.

  At last they went down. I put on as much speed as I could, came along the top side of the Gladiator, and landed on top of it. Betty extended our shields around both ships, which prevented him from regenerating his.

  I opened a channel to the Gladiator pilot.

  "Surrender or Die," I said.

  The reply was all expletives, so I took it as a 'die' answer.

  I unbuckled, and ran to the ladder. I activated my suit into space suit mode, hunted through the suit menu and found a magnetic boots option, and selected it. I extracted the air in the top section of the ship, opened the hatch over the ladder, slid down, and grabbed a pulse rifle from the rack. I ran down the ramp passed a startled Colonel, and jumped down onto the Gladiator.

  My boots stuck to the hull. I walked around to the hatch, selected continuous fire on the pulse rifle, aimed at the hatch, and kept firing until the hatch was breached. There was an explosive decompression. I continued until there was a hole large enough for me to get in. Once inside, I connected up to the nearest air point, and peered into the cockpit.

  The pilot was gone. Fragments from the door must have sliced through him, and decompression had exploded the body.

  My guts heaved, and I threw up. My suit adapted immediately, opening a small hole around my mouth. I doubled over, and emptied my stomach on to the deck. By the time the retching had stopped, and the suit had resealed itself, my lips and mouth were freezing cold.

  I heard "Pay up sucker!" from the background.

  I looked around in the living area, found the clean-bot interface, and gave them instructions to clean the cockpit area.

  "Hunter, sitrep," said the Colonel.

  "I'm inside, the pilot is dead. It's not a pretty sight. I've got the clean-bots working on it. The ship should be fine. There are some holes in the bed, but I wasn't planning on a nap, so it won't matter. The hatch is toast. I'm on ship air. I suggest George comes by, and Betty can dock the Dropship. If George takes you back to the station, I'll take the Gladiator to the shipyard, and take a shuttle to the station. I'll meet up with you there."

  "Approved."

  She gave orders to George, who brought Moose to a stop directly above the Dropship. The ramp was raised, the Dropship rose away from the Gladiator, and slowly entered the hanger bay. The doors closed.

  "How long will you be, Hunter?"

  "Not sure. The bots look about half done. As soon as I can get into the seat, I'll be along after you."

  "Good, don't be too long."

  Moose accelerated away towards the station, and I checked on what the bots were doing. While I waited, I pulsed my overlays and preferences to the ship computer. It accepted them immediately. It bothered me, as it was too easy. I added a code lock to my preferences, so no ship of mine could be taken over by someone else so easily.

  With a pilot on board once again, the ship started regenerating shields. When the bots finally finished, I climbed into the pilot's seat, and set a course for the shipyard. I'm not sure why I waited, since I could fly the ship without sitting in the chair, but the mess was frightful, and it wasn’t as if I was in a hurry at all.

  Nearing the shipyard, I called.

  "Hunter to shipyard."

  "Shipyard to Hunter. That you old son?"

  I laughed.

  "Who else would it be wanting docking permission for a ship he doesn't know the name of?"

  "Too true. Dock in bay five, see you soon."

  Docking went smoothly. For the first time, I didn't fall off the steps. Bob met me at the bottom.

  "Another adjudication job I'm afraid. Not sure who it should be awarded to, though. I was part of a Mercenary outfit at the time, so it probably should go to them."

  "Not a problem, I'll send off the 'paperwork' immediately. What did you do to this one?"

  "Just the hatch and bed. And the pilot. Everything else should be fine. Oh, one other thing."

  I told him what I wanted. He laughed, and said he would get onto it. We parted, and I headed to the shuttle bay to be taken over to the station.

  They were waiting for me. And they all looked angry.

  BA came forward, and thrust her face right in front of mine.

  "What in the name of tarnation did you think you were doing?" she yelled into my face.

  I flinched.

  "First you start giving orders with no warning. That's the Colonel's job. Then you fly like a maniac so that your crew have to hang on like grim death to avoid being thrown out. THEN you jump off the damn ship, and capture a fighter single handed. What sort of a damn fool stunt do you think that was? THAT'S MY JOB, YOU PILLOCK!"

  I stepped back from her in shock. Now she wasn't so close, I could see everyone else's faces. They were all grinning.

  BA grinned too. Then she stepped forward, and hugged me. Everyone joined in.

  As the hug broke up, I said "I feel like dinner."

  "Actually, it's breakfast time," said Amanda. "We've been gone all night. You need your muesli."

  I mimed gagging, and everyone laughed.

  "Where's the best place on the station for breakfast?" I asked. "I'm buying."

  "No," said the Colonel. "I'm buying."

  She led us off, and we ate together as a team. Not my favourite meal of the day, but it was a good one all the same. While we were eating, an email came in from the Mercenary Guild, which I had now rigged for priority notifications.

  My kill s
core was now listed as six.

  I had several new notations on my profile. 'Outstanding Dropship Pilot' and 'Proficient at ship boarding'.

  Colonel Smith caught my eye after I stopped looking glazed.

  She winked at me.

  Twenty Three

  When we got back to the hotel after breakfast, I crashed. I'd no sooner stretched out on the bed, than I was asleep. When I awoke, it was mid-afternoon. I was alone. I was still in my combat suit, so I changed it back to a belt, stripped off my briefs, and went into the bathroom for a long hot shower.

  When I padded out in new briefs and socks, I found the clothes I'd left on Moose lying on the bed. I hung the jeans and shirt up to be cleaned, and put on new jeans and shirt, shoes, and yesterday's jacket, since it had my badges on it. I found Amanda in the sitting room, looking blank. I started toward her hoping to surprise her, but she looked at me before I got half way.

  "Food?" I said.

  "Get a snack," she responded. "We're all doing dinner in the hotel restaurant at seven."

  The makings of ham salad sandwiches were where I expected them to be, and shortly after, I was sitting reading emails, while munching away. It was the usual lot. More credits had gone into my account for the latest pirate. Which reminded me I needed to do a release.

  I stopped, did a mini meditation, and the release right then. Amanda looked up as I started coughing, but I gave her a thumbs up to say it was ok. I went back to emails.

  The Gladiator I'd captured had been adjudicated to me. I pinged Bob to see if the project I'd asked for was on track. He pinged back it was. I pinged the General's aide to let the General know I was back from the Mercenary mission. and there was another Gladiator available they could buy from Bob. It was likely they already knew, but it didn't hurt to make sure. I received an acknowledgement back.

  I looked up the local badge maker on the station, and ordered another set of mine. Also the ribbon for my medal, so I could add it to appropriate 'uniforms', where a medal ribbon was expected, but the whole medal was not worn. I also ordered a medal case. The smallest held six, so it had to do. I figured my parents would love to see it, so I better keep it safe and sound to show them one day.

  I looked up to see Amanda advancing towards me. I grinned at her. This time I wasn't doing any jumping in surprise. She rolled her eyes at me.

  "Civvies for dinner. You'll be fine as you are. Give me a minute to wash up and change, and we'll head down. Everyone else is on the way already."

  I'd obviously lost some time again. What had been a bonus before exams was now proving to be tiresome. At this rate, I'd have to start setting alarms, or I'd miss everything. I picked up a gun from the charger, and added it to my right holster. Amanda came out wearing a very stylish outfit, somewhat marred by the gun on her thigh.

  "Real clothes," she admitted with a sly look.

  "Fabulous," I responded, and offered her my arm. She took it, and we headed out.

  The restaurant was filled to capacity when we arrived. The Colonel could be seen at a large round table, and we moved on over. She waved me to a spot at the table. I saw George was already opposite me, which must have taken creative place setting to achieve. There were eleven of us, so he should have been off center to me. The others arrived one or two at a time. I found Amanda on one side of me, and Alison on the other. Aleesha was beside George, opposite Amanda. I gaped for a moment. Amanda and Aleesha were wearing different clothes!

  Aleesha saw me looking, and laughed. The rest joined in, so I did as well. It was a good start to a dinner party.

  "How often do you two not wear the same thing?" I asked Amanda.

  "Not often. Just special occasions like this one."

  "What's the occasion?"

  "New client. The one we rescued. She was really impressed with how Alison and George foiled the assassination attempt, before anyone knew it was underway, and kept most of her party alive as they retreated up the building. Then, when all seemed lost, their miraculous, if terrifying, jump off the building to safety."

  "Apparently the media on Melbourne went wild over the footage of the rescue," added Alison. "Landing a ship on the side of the building has never been done before, as far as anyone knows. And the wonder is, you didn't break any glass at all. No one can work out how you did it."

  "Don't look at me," I said, "I'm just the pilot."

  A chuckle went round the table.

  "Our profile has increased a great deal. We're already receiving enquiries for our services. I've been putting off the media demands for interviews."

  The Colonel was serious. I nodded. I didn't want to be interviewed, and I figured I had too much attention already.

  "It has leaked out you flew the Dropship," said Alison, "so don't be surprised if you get job offers out of it. Your escapades keep making headlines."

  I winced. Everyone laughed.

  "How did the ship pull up after the mission? Any damage?" I asked.

  "None we can find," said the Colonel. "But the Shipyard has recalled Moose for some issue in the new engine they want to look for, and if need be, fix, before it actually becomes a problem. She's going in for the maintenance tomorrow, first thing. So if you want to come over with us, you can check out the progress on your new ship." I nodded. "Oh seven hundred then." I nodded again.

  "Does that mean I get out of flying her tomorrow, Annabelle?" asked George.

  I started at the familiarity, but then, it was a social occasion.

  "No, you don't," she answered forcefully.

  George looked downcast, until Aleesha hit him on the arm, and he started grinning.

  "When are we going to get a replacement pilot?" he went on.

  "I have a job listing at the guild. There have been several applications, but no-one up to standard yet. Hopefully someone will turn up soon. In the meantime, if Jon is available, we'll use him."

  "He better be," said BA forcefully.

  She froze as everyone looked at her, shrugged, and started playing with her napkin.

  "Depends when my ship is completed," I said, "and what happens after. The future is somewhat open-ended for me at this point."

  "Why won't you join us?" asked Alana.

  "He has good reasons," said Annabelle, "and it isn't because he doesn't like us. So just leave it there."

  "Actually, one of those reasons is to do with the pirate we encountered. Was he there by random chance, or did he know we were on our way back from Melbourne? Was he waiting for us, or was he waiting for me? Only one fighter suggests they considered us an easy target. Maybe they were just after me, or maybe it was all of us, because you escaped them once before, and you've been protecting me since. Until this sorts itself, I'm a target. While danger is your business, there is acceptable risk, and there is stupidity, and for now, it looks like the more I fly with you, the more the latter will be the case."

  "Well said," said George.

  Alana nodded to me. As an explanation, it was nowhere near the whole one, but it seemed to be enough. I wasn't sure how much they realized we'd been lucky with that pirate, although luck for one, often went with stupidity of the other.

  Had I been on the Gladiator, I'd have had the jump point staked out at point blank range, and taken us out before we could have reacted. He had to have been patrolling, and it seemed to indicate a lack of discipline. I'd take it, if it meant surviving another day.

  I flicked a glance at BA, and she nodded as well. I was turning back, when my eye caught the perfectly shaped pulse rifle sitting next to her cutlery. I'd never seen anyone do that with a napkin before. My eyes sought hers. She seemed to be daring me to say something along the lines of 'tough guys don't do origami', but I was impressed, and mouthed 'nice' to her, with a nod. She nodded in reply.

  All during this discussion, drinks had been served. The waiter came around taking our food selections. I again opted for the steak, chips, and salad. It was a favourite of mine, and I did tend to stick to the same food.

  "How would
you like your steak done sir?" I was asked.

  "Medium to well done," I said. "I don't like it burnt, but I also don't like it getting up off the plate."

  It was my normal response.

  The table erupted in laughter, with the exception of Amanda, who'd heard it before. The waiter gave me a look, and moved on. Local conversations started up around the table. Alison leaned in close.

  "I haven't had a chance yet to thank you properly," she said.

  "No need. All in a day's work, you know," I said, with a smile.

  "Yeah right. For us maybe, but the way I heard it, you weren't even asked to volunteer. You got shanghaied."

  That stumped me for a moment. I hadn't even noticed it, even though the Colonel had used the same term.

  "I'm a sucker for a damsel in distress," I said.

  Amanda laughed so hard, everyone else stopped and looked at us. We didn't bother explaining.

  Alison leaned over even closer.

  "Well this 'damsel' has a special thank you for her knight in shining armour in mind for later," she whispered in my ear.

  And with that, she leaned back, and started talking to Abigail on her other side. I didn't correct her about being in dull red leather look at the time, and not shiny armour. But it was a thought. I pinged George to consider making up a medieval knight overlay for the suit. He glazed, chuckled, and nodded to me.

  Dishes started arriving, and I dug into my food. As I ate, I watched the interplay going on around the table. This group were not only a team, they were good friends as well. I wondered how they were coping with losing their last pilot, if they were all this close. It was however, a question I wasn't going to ask. No point in reopening wounds.

  I ordered dessert. Chit-chat was going on around me, and I participated as I could. Eventually the dishes were cleared away. A waiter appeared at my side again.

  "Coffee sir?"

  "Not unless you like cleaning up messes," I said.

  A ripple of silence flowed out from the table, as if I'd dropped a bombshell.

  "What?" I said. "I loathe coffee. Even the smell of it makes me want to throw up."